Valve

Valve's Steam has turned into a behemoth of a digital marketplace for PC games, selling just about any title that sees release today. That means some gamers have amassed huge collections, including games they may never play again, or never really wanted in the first place, whether they were bundle extras or redeemed gifts. Unfortunately, Steam has never really made it an option to delete a game from a user's library. Until today.

Steam Sales have historically been big deals. I don't buy many games these days, mostly because I've filled up on them in previous years. I'd wake up early to see what was on sale, and continue to check back throughout the day, as some of those would change throughout the day. But for the upcoming Autumn and Winter sales, that might be changing.

You have to admit that Valve is a pretty interesting company when it comes to the world of gaming. They could have easily just been another great game developer with a strange fascination with hats. But instead, over the last decade, they have completely changed the way we play games on a PC. This started with their release of the Steam client, and more recently by developing an entire OS just for playing games. But how well do games perform on their SteamOS?

The Steam Controller, as well as the new Xbox One Elite controller from Microsoft, are truly revolutionary for disabled gamers in that they allow complete button re-mapping and customization, letting those who don't have full use of their hands reach and use the controls necessary to play a game. The Steam Controller especially allows levels of customization never seen before, and one user demonstrates this by creating a layout for playing the hit game Skyrim with one hand, fulfilling a request from another disabled player.

Remember earlier this year when Valve and Bethesda teamed up to allow paid mods for Skyrim via Steam? It's safe to say that the effort blew up in their faces, as users lashed out at both companies. Eventually the paid mod store was pulled down, and considered to be a failure. Well, Valve has decided to re-introduce the idea of putting community-created content up for sale, but they're taking a different approach this time.

Valve has made some interesting moves over the last few years, first announcing their own Linux-based OS specifically tailored for gaming, and then stepping into the hardware business. So far, they have only released a controller, and a streaming box, but they have started partnering with a few different companies to make “Steam Machines.” These are small, yet powerful boxes that run their special SteamOS, and give you more of a console-like experience. Today, ZOTAC has shown off their first Steam Machine, dubbed the ZOTAC NEN.

We already know that Valve enjoys getting into the spirit of the spookiest of holidays. In addition to releasing special Halloween game modes for Team Fortress 2, the company has kicked off a short Halloween Sale on some of your favorite scary (and not-so-scary) games.

Valve might not be good at trilogies, but they love community events. This year marks the seventh Halloween event for Team Fortress 2, and they're making it a doozy. Instead of making just one new game mode, they've decided to bring back all six previous Halloween modes. They're not just slacking off by re-hashing old content, there will be some new stuff to enjoy, as well.

If you were one of the early adopters of the Steam Controller or Steam Link, you may have an unexpected surprise waiting for you, from Valve. Over the last few days, owners of one or both of the devices have been getting emails similar to the one above, letting them know that they now have access to all past and future Valve titles, free of charge. Specifically, the Valve Friends and Family Pack.

The formula for an FPS game is pretty simple. You run around, shoot enemies, die, respawn. Rinse and repeat until the match is done. Right? Well, a new game is looking to change up that formula ever so slightly. The aptly-named title One Life (currently on Steam Greenlight) aims to give players one chance to play their game. Should you die, you will be forever locked out of the game.

Don't bother going out and buying a several thousand-dollar Steam Machine, Valve says you already have one at home. Requirements for installing SteamOS on the computer you already have are relatively low - just so long as you've been upgrading over the past couple of years. Installing and customizing SteamOS will require that your computer be wiped out - but once you do that, you'll be ready to roll. In other words: the Steam Machine you have at home isn't going to be your main desktop - it'll need to be a machine you don't use that often.

The Stealth Game Steam Sale begins as a lead-up to whatever spooky bits Valve will reveal for Halloween. This push will include just over 60 games, each of them living inside the "Stealth" genre - one way or the other. This includes games such as Thief (more than one version), the Assassin's Creed series, and Ghost Recon. This is apparently the first "Stealth" Steam event that Valve has ever held, starting this morning and running until October the 16th, 2015.